Invisible
by The Original Geek
Summary: Why did Ianto stop wearing such drab shirts and start wearing more vibrant, colourful ones in S2? My "take" on it.


Author's Note: This is my first Torchwood fanfic, and really just a little character study. It's my attempt to explain why Ianto changed from wearing rather dull, drab shirts in Series 1 to the vibrant, colourful shirts he wears in Series 2 (love the magenta one!), not that it needs explaining, really. A wee bit angsty, with some Ianto/Tosh friendship and Jack/Ianto romance but nothing explicit. Slight spoilers for various Series 1 episodes as well as Series 2 Episode 1.

Legal bits: I own nothing connected with Torchwood or its creators, inhabitants, etc. I'm grateful for the inspiration they've given me and the chance to play in their sandbox.

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**INVISIBLE by TechnoMistress**

Before Lisa died, Ianto Jones needed to be invisible. If he was invisible, his coworkers would ignore him and wouldn't ask him questions about his non-existent private life. If they didn't ask questions then he wouldn't have to come up with lies to cover up the fact that, after he left the Hub each night via the Tourist Office with the others, he snuck back into the lower levels of Torchwood through a passage he had discovered while cataloguing documents in the Archives. As he'd learned during his time at Torchwood 1, camouflage was a vital part of blending in and being invisible. Ianto's camouflage consisted of dark suits and bland shirts – nothing ostentatious, nothing outlandish, and nothing that would draw attention to him. Well, nothing that would draw anyone other than Jack Harkness' attention, but then it was hard to predict what would draw Jack's attention.

After Lisa died, Ianto Jones wanted to stay invisible. If he was invisible, Owen wouldn't glare at him with not so thinly-veiled hostility, Gwen wouldn't wear that smugly superior look around him, Tosh wouldn't look at him with that mixture of pity and guilt that only she could manage, and Jack wouldn't stare at him with disgust and disappointment in his eyes. Things would go back to the way they were before, when no one noticed or cared about him. So, once Ianto was off suspension and allowed back in the Hub, out came the tailored suits and subdued shirts again.

When he almost died at the hands of modern-day cannibals in the Welsh highlands, Ianto Jones wished he really was invisible. Not that his camouflage would have worked in this case, though. After having his wounds taken care of by Owen he went home, pulled off the casual clothes he'd worn to the Brecon Beacons and used them to start a fire in his fireplace. He knew he wouldn't be wearing them again. Then he went through his dressers and closets and pulled out all the rest of his casual clothes, tossing them in the fire as well, until all he had left were dark suits, bland dress shirts and a roaring fire that still couldn't warm him thoroughly. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he was overreacting badly to the experience he'd undergone, but he didn't care. All he knew was that he felt better – safer – when he put on his suit and shirt the next morning in preparation for work.

When Jack left without a word after dying to save Cardiff from Abadon and then coming back to life, Ianto Jones couldn't be invisible any more. Gwen was a mess, moping listlessly around the Hub all day, and the perpetual chip on Owen's shoulder had grown into a full-blown two-by-four. It fell to Ianto and Tosh to hold things together and keep Torchwood running until the other two came to their senses. It wasn't that either of them were grieving Jack's disappearance any less but, given the state the Gwen and Owen were in, they knew they had to step up so there would be something for Jack to return to – something they both believed would happen. In doing so they discovered that they were more alike than unalike, and their friendship was born. Ianto still wore his suits and plain shirts; however, as it was one less thing he had to think about each day.

When Gwen finally got her act together and started leading Torchwood, Ianto Jones knew he couldn't go back to being invisible. His friendship with Tosh strengthened even more as now they had the time they needed to grieve, and they did so together. She opened up to him about Mary and her feelings for Owen, and he told her about Lisa and his complicated feelings for Jack. And, as Gwen realised that Ianto could do more than just make coffee and clean up after them, the four of them came together as a team – one where Ianto was no longer on the outside looking in. One morning, when he went to pull a plain, white shirt from his closet to go with his dark suit, he hesitated. Instead, his hand drifted to a bright magenta dress shirt he'd bought a few weeks earlier. He'd seen it in the shop window and he had thought of Jack, of how the shirt reminded him of Jack – bold, vibrant, and confident. Before he could stop himself he'd gone in and purchased it and several other brightly coloured dress shirts. He hadn't worn it or any of the others since he bought them, but now he put it on and added a dark tie with thin stripes the same colour as the shirt running through it. The smile on Tosh's face and in her eyes when he walked into the Hub, the look of stunned surprise on Owen's face and the flash of approval that passed over Gwen's told him he'd made the right choice.

When Jack came back, Ianto Jones was very happy he was no longer invisible. Now he had people to talk to about what was going on in his life, the confusion he was feeling over Jack's return. The realisation that his team – his friends – would support him, whatever decision he made about his relationship with Jack, warmed him in a way he'd never felt before. The dull drab shirts he had worn BJL – Before Jack Left – hung untouched in the closet as he found that his new pink, deep blue, red and magenta shirts gave him a feeling of confidence and belonging that he sorely needed when dealing Jack and his emotions. And the intriguing combination of affection, pride and arousal in Jack's eyes when he looked at Ianto, and the whispered "God, I love that colour on you" as his hand ghosted over Ianto's shirt-clad chest didn't hurt either.

**FIN**

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Well, that's that. A bit longer than I expected, and I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with the ending, but it is what it is. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.


End file.
